The Only One
by Oogi
Summary: It's been six months since the fall of Ganon, and two since he'd last seen her. But when he gets a letter from her inviting him to the castle, it also mentioning an opening to be Princess Zelda's body guard, do you think he would decline? R&R!
1. The Letter

It had been nearly six month since the defeat of Ganon, and nearly two since he had last seen her. Yet every night without fail he had the same terrifying dreams, the same agonizing nightmares. Link lay in his house in Ordon, the moon shining through the window onto his sickly pale skin. He had been deprived of sleep, even no he was fighting it, and the only time he ever slept was when Ilia was pestering him with rapid updates on Epona and such.

But now he found himself drifting off into another unmerciful slumber. He found himself standing in Castle Town, in the very heart of a large crowd, right outside of Hyrule Castle. Everyone stood with respect as the trumpeters blew and the gates opened to reveal the single person that drove Link absolutely crazy, the person who could rip him to shreds with a single glance, or melt him with a single smile. The wind teased her dirty blonde hair as the sunlight made her face glow with a radiant light. Even in his sleep he could feel the heat rising to his face as she ran towards him. He opened his arms ready to embrace her, to never let her go, but instead of jumping into his open arms she passed right through him and into the arms of another man, the crowd cheering. He tried to scream, to call out her name, but he couldn't. His voice was gone. The two's faces got closer and closer, their lips about to meet as Link awoke with a start, tears streaming from his electric blue eyes.

The sun was barely peeking over the trees as he leapt from the balcony of his home to feel the earth crunch beneath his boots. Even though he was in Ordon, he still wore his Hero's Clothes. The young Hylian headed of to the Ordon spring, head hung low as he wiped the dry tear drops from his cheek. Every time he dreamt his dream it got more and more realistic, more and more terrifying. He pushed the gate open and fell to his knees in the cool water. His muscles were tense and aching from the amounts of training and lack of sleep, and his heart ached every moment for not being able to be by her side. He splashed the water onto his face and neck, hoping to wake himself up. He stayed there for what seemed like hours, before muttering a few unintelligible slurs and standing, only to nearly fall over when he heard a rather loud yell from behind him.

"MR. LINK? HO, MR. LINK!" the hyper postman screeched as he skidded to an abrupt halt in front of the Hero of Twilight. "Ho, Mr. Link! You have one letter, and a very important letter in fact." He said cheerfully handing Link an envelope embroidered with a golden triforce. "Who's this from? The boy asked curiously. "Why it's from the princess!" the postman smirked.

A few days before this in Hyrule Castle, the Princess Zelda sat in her quarters, quill in hand and staring in frustration at a blank sheet of paper. She found herself drifting off, but jerked her head up almost immediately. There were dark rings under he baby blue eyes from the lack of sleep she had been getting. Nightmares scattered her slumber, a specific one to be exact. One where Link stood in the middle of Midna and Ilia, arms wrapped around both girls, a smile on his face as he leaned towards Ilia to kiss her.

The princess shook the thought away and dipped her quill into the inkwell and started scribbling words onto the sheet of paper. When she finished, she looked her writing over, and slid the page into an envelope and sealed it with the royal crest, and a secret kiss.

"Zelda." Link murmured as his trembling hands opened the letter after the postman had left. He unfolded the paper and began to read her neat handwriting.

_Hello Link. How have the past two months been treating you? It must be nice to be back home in Ordon. _

Link thought of Ilia chasing him around and Beth trying to get his attention after he defeated Ganon. A frown crossed his face. 'Not really.' He said in his head. He continued reading.

Any who, it has been exceedingly dull around the castle. The elders keep pestering me to hire more knights and get a bodyguard so that the kingdom will be at ease and such. Thank you for staying to help rebuild the castle, you should come see it, its rather lovely now. If you accept my invitation, I look forward to seeing you. Love, Zelda

Link read and reread the letter over and over again, especially the signature. She asked him to come see her. Him. Was he going to accept? You bet all your rupees he was! He raced back to his house and practically flew up the ladder. He dashed back and forth across the small abode making sure he had grabbed his Gale Boomerang, and his spinner, in case they hadn't fixed those stairs yet. He hastily shoved all his provisions in a bag, tying his wallet 'round his belt and stuffing his pockets with small chunks of cheese and bread. He glanced outside to notice it was around noon. "Uh oh." He found himself saying. He hated noontime. Everyday Ilia showed up with a report on Epona and would give him a rather long and dull update on the village. He guessed it made her feel important.

As if on cue there was a rapid knock on the door. "Link?" Ilia's voice called, as she knocked some more. 'I might as well answer.' He thought, 'It's not like I'll be seeing her anytime soon. Link slung his pack over his shoulder and opened the door. "Yes, Ilia?" "Oh, good afternoon Link!" she then began rambling off about Epona's need for exercise. "Well, that's good." Link smiled, "We're leaving for Castle Town now anyway." With that he tried to slide past her while she was still in shock and hurried down the ladder and jumped onto his horse. "For what?" she asked him, recovering quickly from her shock. "To see an old friend." He said, his mind wandering to thoughts of her warm smile. "Y-you'll be back, r-right?" she asked, her voice shaking. "If things go my way, don't think so!"

"Hyaah!" he cried as Epona galloped through Hyrule field. He was nearly there, and was terribly overjoyed. Finally his nightmares would end; finally, he would see the one that made his heart tick. He remembered when he had first met the Princess, when he was a wolf. Even then she had stolen his heart, and even though he cared for Midna, when Zelda gave Midna her life, Link's heart felt as if it had been yanked out of his chest. The master sword didn't help defeat Ganon; it was his joy that Zelda was alive. He began to daydream about when he had spent those long walks throughout the castle with Zelda as he helped rebuild the castle. And he was doing okay until Epona halted, sending her rider overhead and into the gate of Castle Town.

"Ow." He muttered steadying himself to ace the open gate. "Here goes nothing." He strolled through the town and made his way to the Castle path. He was about to enter when he felt the cold steel of a sword's tip against his neck. Link let a million possible moves to be used in a situation like this flow through his mind, but used only one. "Who goes there?" a gruff voice commanded from behind the hero. Link straightened as he turned to face a castle guard, a rather new one at that. "I'm Link, Hero of Twilight. I have been summoned by Princess Zelda." He stated, trying as hard as he could to sound intimidating. Honestly, he hated pulling out the whole 'Hero' thing, but not at times like this.

The guard laughed and lowered his weapon. "Oh forgive me, I mistook you for someone else." And he strode off looking rather embarrassed. Link shrugged and went on through the gates, only to see a small woman string at him from a booth near the doors to the castle. As he neared the entrance he noticed what they were selling. "Hello there sir, buy a sapphire necklace?" the woman asked him. He looked down at the necklace she was indicating and saw Zelda, Zelda's gorgeous eyes. I'll take it he said, handing her two silver rupees. "Have a good evening, sir." "You too." He said and turned to the castle, but turned to see that the woman, booth and all, had vanished.

He shuddered. The only thing between him and Zelda were the castle doors. Link straightened his hat and brushed himself off. Gripping the handle he walked timidly into Hyrule Castle.


	2. The Argument That Sealed The Deal

The door creaked shut when he walked into the large circular room full of chandeliers and balconies, it looked almost the same from when he had first came, except for the fact that it had stairs to and from the main balcony so you walk to the throne room and not have to be Link to actually get from one level of the building to another.

He sauntered up the steps, through the door, and into the hallway that led outdoors. He ran into the middle door, and tested his footing on the blocks, and they didn't fall. Zelda had been right. The castle was more beautiful than before for such a short period of time. There were new paintings replacing those Link had shot down, and the courtyard had been trimmed and the suits of armor had been replaced with statues of mighty heroes and such and he thought the one outside of the throne room looked a lot like him.

Wait, the throne room? He had so absorbed himself in his thoughts he hadn't realized that he had arrived at the room so rapidly. As he reached for the handle he stopped himself as he heard to rather loud voices coming from inside.

The first was an elderly man, Link could tell by the hoarseness of his voice as he yelled as calmly as yelling could get, "You MUST hire a bodyguard, the kingdom will not be at peace unless their princess is safe. We cannot have another episode like before!"

The second voice was that of a certain enraged princess, a side of Zelda the boy had never seen nor heard before, "I will hire a bodyguard when I damn well choose I need one and not a moment later!" The harshness in her voice made the hero outside recoil. But he also felt a twinge of pain, for if she had a bodyguard, he would never be alone with just her again. It would always be her, him, and the lazy old drunk the hire to protect her.

As the two kept arguing in the room, Link was having an internal conflict within himself. 'You might as well turn around now, Link.' He thought, how somewhere deep inside a defiant 'No.' came. This continued for quite some time.

Inside the room the argument still continued as well. "You want me to hire a bodyguard?" Zelda asked, about to explode, "Fine, the next man to step foot into this room is gonna be my goddess-damned bodyguard!"

Link hadn't meant to fall into the room, he actually was just leaning against the door and he fell onto the handle and his weight sent him flying into the chamber, feet touching first. He stood up and came face first with a short man, with a short gray beard and almost no hair. The man adjusted his spectacles and gave Link a good look over and smirked. "Congratulations Princess. He is the perfect boy for the job!" and the still smirking man hobbled towards the stunned Zelda and handed her a stack of papers. "Here's the lad's contract." And with that the old man pushed aside Link to exit, stopping to address him, "You start tomorrow."

Link stood there dumbfounded, the only thing wandering through his head was the question of what had just happened. He looked at the floor to hide his smile. 'If I'm Zelda's bodyguard, I'd get to see her every day!' he thought as if he were a young boy whose babysitter was a very attractive girl, princess to be exact. Of course it would be the other way around with this.

While Link was having a party in his head, Zelda's hands were trembling as she stared at the packet she was holding. The very first page stated all that was actually needed, basically. It stated that the one who signed the paper would protect her with his life, or die trying. Her whole shivered as she thought of Link dying because of her. No, she wouldn't allow that. Silence between the two had ensued, only to be broken by the sound of Zelda coming towards him.

She stopped less than a foot away from him, and he looked up into her eyes. He loved her eyes, he could always find comfort in them, but now they looked hurt, and happy, they seemed confused. Link slowly smiled down at her and wrapped his arms around her smaller figure. Zelda immediately felt her face flush, and Link too, as soon as he realized what he was doing. His arms flung themselves behind himself and he peered off to the side, his face a light shade of pink.

"Link." Her voice melted him inside when she spoke. He'd never heard her speak like that, her voice full of kindness, "I've missed you." Link's eyes wandered over to where she was standing. Silence settled once again. "Are, are those for me?" he asked happily reaching for the stack in her hands. Her grip tightened, "No, there for someone else." He stopped and gave her a quizzical look. "But the old man said that it was MY contract." He clutched the paper as well, his fingertips lightly brushing against hers. She shuddered as she spoke, "No, Link, I, if you died protecting me I, you've done enough for me already-" she was cut off by Link's finger gently placed on her lips.

He snatched the paper and read the first page, "This contract doesn't sound outrageous in the least."

"It may not, but I do not want you to just be whisked into a position because I lost my temper."

"I would've accepted if you had even asked me!"

"Why would you? It's pointless! I have plenty of able recruits!"

"Because I'd get to spend more time with you!"

"And you could do that without risking your life! What if Ganondorf comes back?"

"That old codger isn't coming back! Even if he did I would be there protecting you!"

"Why? Why risk your life on a pampered palace brat!" by now their faces were only millimeters away from each other's.

"Why Zelda? Because I l-" Link stopped himself from saying what he had been wanting to tell her ever since they met. It was then that the two teens realized their close proximity and turned an extremely dark shade of red. "Because I care for you." Was all he could mutter. "May I please be your bodyguard?"

Zelda bit her lip and looked at him and saw the hurt in his eyes from their little fight. "Link, I just don't want you to get hurt." He grabbed her hand and asked quietly, "If I promise to keep us both safe, can I?"

On the inside Zelda knew she wanted him to take the job. She would be with him every day; she'd probably even stay in the same room with him! Her face flushed again at the thought. Link's voice assured her once again, "You can't win this Zelda."

"Fine." Link's ears perked up and a smile crossed his face. "Fine what?" Zelda smiled a defeated type of smile, "Fine you can have the job, and you are the only one for the job."

Link grinned and began to say something about wher he'd be staying, but the princess cut him off, "We'll discuss that at dinner, in the meantime, I must go to my quarters and change. I'll see you in the dining hall." She raised an eyebrow, "I presume you remember where that is?" He nodded. "Good." Link felt himself being pulled into a tight embrace. "I really did miss you Link." Zelda whispered and kissed his cheek before rushing out of the room, leaving a dazed hero behind her, hand on his tingling cheek.

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**So, what did you think? Reviews are REALLY appreciated, and cookies too!**


	3. Room and Board

Link turned the corner and advanced towards the doors that led to the dining hall. Turning the handle, he peeked into the hall, and seeing it was empty, stepped inside. There were murals all around him, murals of a beautiful Hyrule. There was also an incredibly long table stretching from one end of the hall to the other, with two chairs placed at the far end. 'Strange,' he thought, 'why isn't there more than two?' he walked over and started to sit down in one of the chairs, when a creak was heard echoing throughout the hall.

He whirled around and saw Princess Zelda advancing towards him, a teasing glint in her eye. "A-ah, Pr-princess! You s-startled me." Link chuckled nervously. Zelda smirked, and decided to play with him a little. "Link!" she cried, pretending to be horribly upset, "You were about to sit in my chair!" Link felt awful, even for such a petty reason, for making her upset. "Oh, no Princess, I'm so sorry." He began pleading with her, as she smirked and playfully smacked his cheek, "Oh shush and sit. And how many times have I forbid you from calling me 'Princess'?" Zelda pushed him down into one of the vacant seats. Realizing that the whole thing was a joke, Link chuckled and relaxed into the chair.

A waiter brought out two glasses of an orange colored liquid that looked rather, well rather odd if you asked Link. But after seeing Zelda drink it he obviously realized it must be okay.

"So," Link said, breaking the silence of the room, "What are my sleeping arrangements, seeing as I won't be going anywhere anytime soon?" he lazily flicked a fly off the rim of his glass as he saw Zelda blush slightly from beside him. "Did you even read your contract?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Link answered her before thinking of his choice of words, "No, I was to busy thinking of you." For a brief moment their eyes met, and the young hero was lost, lost in a place that was neither in Hyrule nor Twilight, a place that only he knew about. That is, until he heard the clatter of the two's plates being deposited on the table.

The teens looked away, blushing, as Zelda muttered a thank you to her servant. "Well, don't you think now would be a good time to?" she asked, forking at her roast cucco, apparently wanting to get this over with. Link, taking from her actions, had already assumed that the contract said something that he would like, and decided to tease her, "Well, Why don't we read it together?" his hand placed itself over hers, and its quite a good thing that it was growing darker in the room, otherwise Zelda would have seen the large blush on the boy's face from his own actions. "O-of course."

"I'll start." Link said clearing his throat, never once moving the hand that rested on top of hers, he took the small packet out of his tunic. "The man who signs this document shall thereby be named as Royal Bodyguard and be placed with the duty of keeping the Princess Zelda, safe." He paused, and flipping the page held the packet out to Zelda, who, without meaning to, had not listened to a word he said and had been staring at his hand the entire time. Realizing it was her turn to read the paper she sighed and took the papers from his hand.

"Boarding for the signer shall be provided in the pr-" she stopped, her tiny blush rapidly spreading into a large, deep hue of red all over her face. She already read the contract, and knew exactly where he'd be sleeping. Link raised an inquisitive eyebrow; "Shall be provided?" for an answer to his question Zelda mumbled some ineligible words and continued on, "He shall wake when the princess awakens, and dine, walk, and accompany her anywhere she wishes to go." "Zelda." Link said, not harshly, but determined. "If you don't tell me were I'll be staying, well, I'll find out anyway when I sign it." The princess sat there for a few minutes, before sighing with a defeated look on her face. "It's okay Zelda, I can sleep in the barracks with the guards." He added quickly, hating the fact that the girl that he was madly in love with had that look of disappointment on her face.

She smiled at him, automatically making him relax as he subconsciously clutched her hand, "I will not be having my hero sleep with a bunch of rowdy drunks." Link chuckled her choice of her un-princess like words, but asked her a question that startled them both, "I'm your hero?" Zelda felt her face flush for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. 'Why do I act like this in front of him?' she found herself wondering, 'He's just one man. One man that you happen to love, correct?' "W-well, you did save my life, d-did you not?" she finally managed to get out as Link took the contract and read the section about his rooming. Let's just say he knew now why Zelda had wished to skip that part. He read the piece to himself:

'Boarding for the signer shall be provided in the princess' quarters, most likely the bodyguard must share the bed due to the lack of time to prepare for his arrival.'

The boy gulped, sending shivers down his spine at the thought of having to share a bed with Zelda. "Well, do these accommodations suit you?" she asked. What a ridiculous question. It wasn't that Link didn't want to share a bed with Zelda, he just, well; he usually slept with nothing but a pair of undershorts. That, and what if he ended having a, err, 'dream', about her. Not wanting her to stress herself over a place for him to stay, he quickly answered, "O-of course! They're perfectly fine."

The rest of the contract was rather dull and they hurriedly read through it and ate in silence. Finishing first, Link peeked over at the princess, who had been picking at her stewed pumpkin for the past fifteen minutes. "Do you have a pen?" he asked, rather bluntly if you ask me, but hey, who am I to judge? "In my quarters." She answered, stopping herself from saying, in 'our' quarters. "Do you mind if I head on up?" he asked, already standing up, as Zelda peered outside. The sun had set hours ago, leaving the moon high in the sky, "It's getting late, I might as well accompany you."

The two ascended the staircase leading to the princess' room, making small talk at different intervals.

"So, Link. Did you enjoy your time in Orson?" she asked him, smiling as they turned the hallway in which her room was located. "Not really." He replied, stopping at a large door that he could on assume was the door to Zelda's room. She opened the door and the two stepped in. "Oh, and why, might I ask, is that?" "I dunno." He sighed, falling onto the lush carpet under him.

The room was almost exactly the same as the first time he had been there when he was a wolf. Less dreary of course, but not that many changes. Only a new chandelier and some carpet. He kicked off his boots as Zelda slipped off her slippers, he tore off his tunic as she slipped behind the divider and changed into a silk nightgown, one of her less revealing ones, and stopped as Link continued to take off his chain mail, his shirt, and leggings, leaving him with only a pair of shorts remaining. He wasn't buff, but well toned, and Zelda fought the urge to grab him and kiss him. 'That is not very lady-like.' She scolded herself, but couldn't resist and walked over to the young man and held him in a tight embrace, her heart racing at the warmth of his bare skin. Link's heart began to race as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, wrapping his arms around her as well; he pulled her as close to him as he could.

"We should get some sleep…" she sighed, "If you truly wish for the job, your, coronation…. Is tomorrow…" she found herself drifting off in his arms. Link felt it too, and with ease, lifted her and placed her on the nearest side of the bed. "You bet your beautiful little self that I wish for that job." He mumbled as soon as she fell asleep, and pulled the silk sheets over her body. He walked over to the pile of clothes he had deposited near his boots and withdrew the contract. Scanning the room, he found a large desk, covered in papers and inkwells, and quills. He snatched one up and dipped it into the nearest source of ink, scrawling his name across the line made for it. Yawning, he made his way over to the bed and fell onto the corner as far away from Zelda as possible, (much to his own disappointment.) and quickly fell into his first peaceful slumber for the past two months.

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**Sorry it's so rushed. I'm not feeling very well and am extremely tired... Ah well! Review please! Or I WILL have Link find you, and that will not end pretty!**


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